Posted on 09/14/2008 9:07:51 PM PDT by Reagan Man
I'm a Director in Hollywood. I've also created visual effects for movies and commercials for 23 years. I'm not disclosing my name at this point, because frankly I've already suffered enough job loss because I was "outted" as a conservative. But enough about me. I caught a commercial teaser for the Charlie Gibson interview of Sarah Palin and something caught my attention as a Director immediately: The use of the position and choice of lenses to minimalize Governor Palin.
To be objective to see if I was jumping to conclusions, I immediately reviewed Mr. Gibson's interview with Senator Obama. Take a look below at how wide and then how even the heights are between the two. Yes, in real life Senator Obama is taller than Mr. Gibson. The shot was never tighter than the framing on the right.
Now take a look at Sarah Palin's interview below. Funny how all the shots are no wider than the one on the left. There's a reason for this. While it's true that Governor Palin is of less stature than Mr. Gibson, the deliberate choice of the camera's height, framing and the use of telephoto lenses all serve to make Mr. Gibson look overpowering and Governor Palin the weak prey. This is common shooting technique we use to make a villain appear more ominous. How intuitive of ABC News to correctly portray themselves.
To illustrate this further, I utilized some storyboarding software I normally use to figure out what shots need to be set up when I shoot a movie. Notice that by merely adjusting the height of the camera and using a telephoto lens we can manipulate the shot to make either subject we want larger or smaller. The characters themselves were not scaled up or moved at all. Obviously ABC, along with Mr. Gibson and his producers chose to make her look as tiny as possible.
So, it's just one more bit of evidence on the pile of news media's bias against conservatives and women. Oh wait...what about Senator Clinton's interview....
Huh. Guess it's just conservatives. Mr. Gibson is in good company with Oprah.
Since this the first blog, let me give you a glimpse of what's in store for future articles. I'll be giving you a first hand account of such stories as puppeteers chanting to Satan behind-the-scene of a kids film and self professed co-workers of tolerance and diversity launching in to fist-pounding-on-desk, veins-bulging-in-forehead tyraids over soft spoken questions asked of them.
This is your inside look at the real Hollywood and those you give your billions to in ticket sales.
Fascinating post...Gibson is busted.
That narrows it down to about three people.
This reminds me of the scenes in Chaplin’s Great Dictator where the Tomanian dictator and the Bacterian dictator are both trying to make each other feel smaller than the other, either by positioning their opposite in smaller chairs, or raising their seats in the barber shop. It’s great comedy, and shows how early Hollywood producers became concerned with framing and juxtaposition as this secret member of the vast right wing conspiracy now verifies for us.
Notice Gibsons seating position. In both the Obama and Clinton interviews he is seated sideways, non-confrontational which is obviously more comfortable for the interviewee, and may communicate a warmth or trust for the interviewee to the audience. In the Palin interview, he is directly facing her in a more aggressive, confrontational style, in a cold studio setting void of sofas and the "den" look, which may be a cold technique used to make her feel uncomfortable and more like an interrogation than an interview.
Also, in the Clinton and Obama interviews, look at the warm setting, with sofa's etc. In the Palin interview, it is cold clinical setting. I don't know how to explain in theatrical terms but if you are seen talking to someone in the living room, vs in a cold studio, I think it may be a studio technique to lessen the stature of the person being interviewed. Pure speculation, but theres my 2 cents.
You know I noticed that she looked small and shruken too, but I chalked it up to her being a small woman as I don’t know how tall she is. I didn’t realize it was camera trickery. Thanks for posting this.
One last thing because I find this interesting... look at the pink lighting used in the Obama interview, which sort of makes Gibson and Obama appear to be more the same color. To make Obama look less black for some reason? The yellow lighting for the Clinton interview which looks warm and fuzzy. Contrasted with the whitish/blue lighting used for the Palin interview which was bright and cold. I’d like to hear the Directors ideas about what effect the lighting has.
I noticed the lighting. IT was darker on Sarah than it was on Gibson. That made her look sinister while he looked more alert.
What an arrogant jerk Gibson is. I previously had thought much more highly of him.
Thanks for posting this article.
Great find! Please add me to your ping list!
Charlie Gibson who is working in a declining industry had a great opportunity to show a huge audience that despite what they think or have heard, he at least is an objective fair journalist. He blew it.
Gibson apparently wants to put his name in the same category of Dan Rather and continue the decline of his industry. His loss, we will find ways to get objective information.
Me too. I used to watch ABC News. I thought Gibson was nice and didn't realize what a snarky weasel George S was - now I realize they're the same. Cut from the same cloth.
Me too. I used to watch ABC News. I thought Gibson was nice and that he didn't realize what a snarky weasel George S was - now I realize they're the same.
Cut from the same cloth.
BTTT!!!!!
Fascinating read, especially what other posters’ had to say about it.
There is definitely something to this.
Even a lib reporter should pick this up as a story.
Yeah, but still - She called him “Charlie” - that knocks 3” off of “Mr. Gibson” or “Charles”.
O
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" Now Missy, we've had just about all of your disruptiveness we're going to take ..."
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